Columbia
Roar-EE Invitational
Columbia (-20) Wins the Roar-EE Invitational at Wiltwyck
4/13/2024 9:26:00 PM | Men's Golf
Francey (-7) takes co-medalist with birdie-birdie-birdie finish
Leading the way for the Lions was senior DJ Francey, who earned co-medalist with a tournament total of 7-under-par 137. Francey posted four birdies and three bogeys for an opening-round 71 and followed with a stellar 6-under 66. His second round included seven birdies, including a birdie-birdie-birdie finish to catch Yale's Ben Carpenter for co-medalist. This marks Francey's second individual win of the season.
"Just incredibly proud of the guys and how they pulled together as a team today," Columbia Director of Golf Rich Mueller said. "These were tough conditions today. DJ was phenomenal out there, and I also can't say enough about senior Alvin Kwak. Alvin's morning round of 66 was storybook, and then to have your team bookend your story with a win just makes it so incredibly special."
Win #️⃣2️⃣ of the season for DJ!#RoarLionRoar 🦁 | #OnlyHere 🗽 pic.twitter.com/ip5KI4yANR
— Columbia Men's Golf Team (@CULionsMGolf) April 14, 2024
Playing No. 1 in the lineup, senior Alvin Kwak carded a career-low round of 66 in his final regular-season tournament. It was pristine, posting six birdies and no bogeys to hold the 18-hole lead. He ultimately tied for 13th in the 75-man field at 1 under.
Junior Wyatt McGovern continued a fantastic run of play. McGovern (-5) earned solo third with a first-round 70 and second-round 69. He took advantage of the par-4 sixth and par-5 12th with birdies in both rounds. Those accounted for four of his 10 birdies on the day, carding five in each round.
George Rubelsky earned a top 20 at even-par 144, posting back-to-back rounds of 72. Darren Pang (+3) rounded out the team competitors with a tie for 22nd, placing all five Lions in the team lineup in the top 25.
Columbia's 20-under 36-hole total (279-277—556) marked the second time this season they've gone that low over the opening 36 of a tournament – they posted back-to-back rounds of 14-under on their way to The Doc Gimmler Invitational title in September. This time around, they held off second-place Yale (-14) and were 16 shots clear of the rest of the 13-team field.
The Lions now get set for the 2024 Ivy League Championship, which takes place Friday-Sunday, April 19-21, at Watchung Valley Golf Club in Watchung, New Jersey.
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Players Mentioned
